October 14

What happened on October 14 in aviation and space history.

• October 14, 1943

  "Black Thursday": second raid on Schweinfurt

  Accident — On 14 October 1943 a renewed attack on Schweinfurt became known as "Black Thursday": of 291 attacking B-17s, 60 were shot down over Germany, 5 crashed on approach to Britain and 12 more were written off, a loss of 77 aircraft, with 122 more bombers damaged. The heaviest blow the Eighth Air Force had yet suffered forced a halt to unescorted deep-penetration raids until long-range fighters became available.